Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Well, they finally excised the last vestiges of the conservative "Tomlinson revolution" over at PBS. Last Friday (12/02) saw the final installment of The Journal Editorial Report, featuring Paul Gigot and members of The Wall Street Journal editorial page. We should all lament this loss; PBS most of all. Here is Mr. Gigot's closing statement:

This is our last show on PBS, and we have many people to thank for helping us during the 15 months that we have been invited into your homes. Our executive producer, Paul Friedman, and his talented crew, helped us to sharpen our thinking and made us look and sound better than we had a right to expect. Our sponsors, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Royal Dutch Shell, allowed us the freedom to speak our minds. I would especially like to thank the former chairman of the CPB, Ken Tomlinson, for defending the importance of balance and diversity on public television. To the many PBS stations that carried us around the country, thank you for your commitment to public affairs programming that represents more than one point of view. We wish every station shared that commitment.Most of all, thanks to you, our viewers, for allowing us to share your time. The fact that many of you surely disagreed with some, or even all, of what we said makes us all the more grateful that you have been willing to hear us out. Too much of our political debate these days is accusatory and shrill, and we've tried on this program to engage in a debate over ideas, rather than about motives. The clash of ideas is essential to our democracy. And as long as taxpayer-supported public broadcasting exists, we think it has an obligation to represent all of the public. Thanks again, and farewell.

I think I know why they got rid of this series. It wasn't about the Tomlinson controversy, or emails to Karl Rove. I saw it every week, when I watched the show on tape with my liberal fiance. SHE LIKED THE SHOW, and the people on it, and often agreed with them. They put a human face on conservatives (beyond me and her libertarian uncle). I don't presume it was because of Anna alone, of course(LOL!). I mean the fact that they presented conservative ideas rationally, even intellectually, without liberals blowing rhetorical smoke into the atmosphere, as in most political shows on almost any network. This show was a true antidote to liberalism, and as such could not be allowed on PBS. Bill Moyers must be happy. I hope they find a home somewhere else, perhaps even a Sunday morning slot after Fox News Sunday. I can hope, right?